“What does it do?” my good friend requested as we sat there staring on the chrome-pink, futuristic trying cylinder set on the desk. “It’s only a water bottle,” I stated.
“It doesn’t filter your water? Maintain monitor of how a lot you drink?” she requested. I shrugged. “Nope, I suppose it does look cool although.” My good friend was asking as a result of Okapa, a model with only one product, sells its flagship water bottle for $295.
For context, most high-end water bottles prime out round $50, or possibly $100-150 if they’ve fancy options like self-cleaning UV lights, built-in filters, or app connectivity to observe your ingesting habits. When a model prices that rather more than market worth, it’s normally for certainly one of two causes: both it’s a luxurious product meant as a standing image, or it’s fixing a client downside nobody else has cracked.
Okapa is claiming to do each. Its Instagram bio says “luxurious hydration”, and it’s tapping the style world to seek out its clientele by partnering with a small designer for a New York Vogue Week runway present. However, additionally, Okapa claims its bottle redefines hygiene and sturdiness, utilizing supplies usually present in medical and aerospace purposes.
Certainly, Okapa says it is taken eight years of R&D and greater than 10,000 prototypes to attain the “micron-level precision” of its bottle, and within the course of secured greater than 70 patents globally. By the way, in case you are questioning what Okapa means, or the place it comes from, in response to the corporate it’s, apparently, a mindset. “We’re calling it ‘The State of Okapa’ the place the unthinkable is being realized” says the web site bumf. The positioning then provides the bottle itself is “a technical feat of engineering past motive.”
No stranger to the posh market, or certainly hyperbolic product guarantees, Okapa’s founder Hardy Steinmann lower his enamel within the 80s and 90s operating the advertising and gross sales for high-end watch model Hublot within the USA, then relaunching Swatch Group’s Hamilton watch model globally.
Anyway, do these medical and aerospace supplies truly make a distinction in a water bottle? Can a water bottle actually redefine hygiene? I examined it for almost two months and spoke to a medical toxicology professional to seek out out.
Preliminary Ideas
Earlier than I even received my fingers on the water bottle, I noticed the web site. It has a retro online game aesthetic with the pixelated textual content and sliding transitions. Even the person guide is illustrated in that very same playful model. And I’m a sucker for an organization that places that a lot intention into branding design and total vibe.
Once I unboxed the water bottle, I used to be much more bought. This factor is gorgeous. The strains are clear, the dot sample is eye-catching, and the end has a gentle matte sheen that appears and feels costly. I received the pink-and-yellow colorway (“Peaches Copperwire”), however there are eight whole, from all-black to vibrant purple. Every has a reputation that sounds extra like a funds sci-fi film character than a shade, like “Redd Rumble” or “Mitsi Pinku.”
With such a particular design, would my fancy water bottle elicit jealousy of my friends or strangers? Might they even inform it value a lot? I toted this all through airports, to spas, to work occasions in New York Metropolis, and on trains in Europe. I stored it in hand, swinging from my fingers, fishing for compliments. I received none.
The Testing Expertise
Water bottles are a reasonably fundamental product, so the engineering and particulars of the Okapa bottle shocked me. First, it’s actually satisfying to drink from. The lid opens with the push of a button and lets out a clear little “pop” because the spring-loaded prime snaps again. It’s easy to open with one hand, and as you tilt the bottle to get each final drop, the cap stays neatly out of the best way as an alternative of flopping ahead to bonk you on the brow.
The mouthpiece form suits completely if you purse your lips, and the Swiss-made Grilamid plastic feels softer and extra premium than most. It additionally has a locking mechanism that works exceptionally nicely. Even after I neglect to have interaction the locked mode, the cap has by no means popped open in my bag. (I as soon as ruined a laptop computer when an Owala opened mid-commute, so I recognize a reliable latch.)